Bilstein 5100 Ride Quality

vancealot29 · July 27, 2022

Hey All,

I know.....another Bilstein thread, but I had a question and didn't want to dig through the other 1000 threads for the answer(s). I got a quote to get the 5100's installed on my truck, was talking to a friend of mine who said not to do it, cause the ride quality will be terrible, i.e., feeling every bump in the road. He said to just go with the leveling blocks or whatever they are called from Rough Country (or any company really).

I don't tow much, and when I do, its not a lot of weight, and I don't go off-road. I use my truck as my daily driver, and am simply looking to level out the front end, so I can get one tire size bigger when it is time for new tires.

Everyone mostly raves about the 5100's, but I suppose they may or may not be what I need, for what I am looking to do.

Any thoughts?

f8l vnm · July 27, 2022

5100s will ride rougher but so will everything else. Yes maybe a complete coil over system might have better dampening but if your looking for something that’s close resembles stock ride . I think you will have a hard time.

AJMBLAZER · July 27, 2022

Bilsteins are great. They increase your suspension's dampening so you will feel more of the road. However you'll have less roll and wobble than you have with the crappy factory shocks and struts.

It's like the difference between a well set up sports car's firm but controlled ride and a plush but wallowy sedan's ride.

SloppyJ · July 28, 2022

I've had both on different trucks. Had 5100s on a f150 and a spacer on a tundra. The spacer rode better in every way. To get a good amount of lift on the 5100s you have to jack up the preload and it made my king ranch ride like complete crap. The rebound was awful and any pothole would make you wince.

If you just want to level, I'd go with spacers but that's just me. You could also look at some complete front spring/strut combos like fox or eibach.... I haven't tried those though.

fatwhiteboy · July 28, 2022

I changes mine out when the truck had about 2500 miles, it now has 25K miles on it and I still love them. They are a stiffer than the Ranchos that came with it but worth it on and off road. I have never liked Rancho shocks, way to mushy and fade quickly. Well worth the money to upgrade if you plan on keeping the truck. I use Bilstein and Fox on all of my trucks and Jeeps but if money grew on a tree, I would buy Kings. Way out of my budget.

Mike Borowski · July 28, 2022

The ride quality isn't much firmer than stock. The sports car analogy is a good one. It feels planted. I'll take the improved handling and less bounce in the rear over a slightly firmer ride any day.

RStrain56 · July 28, 2022

I've been curious of the same upgrades on the shocks to the Bilstein's. I've read some folks say these shocks eliminate the "float" the stock shocks induce when you go over a bump in the road, which I absolutely dread. It feels as though the truck floats up and down for an eternity. I've also read some people say these don't make a difference at all. If these truly eliminate the "float" problem, I'll gladly make these upgrades!

AJMBLAZER · July 28, 2022

The float goes bye bye.

it’s a truck so it doesn’t handle like an Italian super car but it does handke pretty well.

Grover67 · July 28, 2022

Not sure why your buddy is feeding you this information about the Bilstein's, unless there is more to his story like doing more to his ride than just shocks that caused his issues. I changed just the rear ones out just after I got my AT4 due to crappy stock ones not up to the task of keeping the rear end planted, only thing it changed in ride quality is that it was much better and felt more secure to the road. Decided to do the fronts just before 10,000 miles, was going to just do the 5100's but figured I only wanted to do it once and didn't want regrets with second guessing, so I went with the 6112 setup. Did notice that the ride did improve as I was starting to notice the stockers we starting to feel "different" from new. Rides better and dosen't have that fade away feel in front and is not hash in any way. Most that have driven it compliment on how well it feels and drives. Did it need the 6112 setup, probably not, but no regrets.

Buddy of mine bought a 2022 Denali 2500 and switched out his to the 5100's after his wife complained on how bad it felt on bumpy road(its Michigan) and she noticed how much better it felt and rode.

-Grover67

winks79 · July 29, 2022

Put them on my truck not long after I bought it. Love them. It is actually my wife's truck, and she thanks me on a regular basis for replacing the Rancho's with the 5100's. She noticed the difference immediately. Don't know what else to tell you.

Method2Madness · August 10, 2022

Put em on mine all around and the ride absolutely sucked. Put the Ranchos back on the front with a top spacer and am MUCH happier.

Don't make the same mistake I did.

Gangly · August 10, 2022

The Bilsteins, like any aftermarket shock, will be stiffer than factory. Some people like that, others don't. By 20k miles, my truck would roll and pontoon so bad with the Ranchos that it was distracting and annoying. I put the Eibach kit on the truck and it handles 100 times better with absolute minimum body roll in the turns and minimal front end dive when braking. As mentioned above, its handling characteristics mimic what you would find in a sports car (please do not assume I am saying it handles as good as a sports car, it doesn't, its a truck). The ride is much more reserved, planted, and confidence inspiring. However, to do that the shocks couldn't be made as "plush" as the ranchos, so it does ride noticeably stiffer than stock but handles 1000 times better.

If you really do like the stock ride characteristics, then a puck or block up front is just fine. However, if you want improved handling and drivability I would highly suggest an upgrade to Bilstein or Eibach.

Amcguy1970 · August 10, 2022

On one hand I shouldn't reply because the OP is being lazy and wants answers right now instead of reading, which I don't get. I spend tons of time researching before making decisions that are either A) expensive or B) will have to be lived with for a while; I do this to learn and weed out reviews like some we have in here that praise the much improved ride. If they want to use that term they need to be clear, ride is not comfort. These shocks aren't an improvement over stock in small rough pavement ride, they are an improvement in large bumps and side to side movement.

These get their lift from pre-load which stiffens how the springs acts, no way to get that to ride smoother over small broken pavement. If you deal with a tons of small bumps and rough roads and you are looking for an improvement in ride, these aren't for you. Tires can make the biggest difference in that case, go as large as possible with as much tread depth in a p-rated tire and your ride over those will improve.

Not sure what to tell you, just research and go read that thread, tons of information (and mis information) in there but for you to find out. Just be weary of the rose colored glasses reviews that mention comfortable, huge improvements or night and day, because while good, they are none of that for a mid level lower prices shock...

I swear, some of the reviews in these forums I get the sense they are sales people misleading everyone like the Amsoil sales folks poking around with all the promises and underlying "information".

Tyler

superhighsierra · August 11, 2022

The simple answer is don’t do it.

Tried to warn everyone in the other Bilstein threads of the same thing. Bunch of people who didn’t know what they are doing, justifying money they spent to make their vehicle ride worse.

If you off-road regularly, their are infinite other better options out there as well. 5100’s aren’t necessarily bad shocks, actually solid for the money, but they will ride like crap set up a couple rings on these trucks with stock coils.